Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Images

Images related to natural hazards.

Filter Total Items: 7286
4-photos of scientists doing field work on boats, and in or near the water
Scientists doing field work at Elwha River
Scientists doing field work at Elwha River
Scientists doing field work at Elwha River

Researchers survey Elwha River elevation and depths. Clockwise from upper left: setting up a traditional survey instrument above the river; measuring river depths from a kayak with sonar and GPS; walking the beach with GPS backpacks; and determining offshore depths using a personal watercraft with GPS and sonar.

Researchers survey Elwha River elevation and depths. Clockwise from upper left: setting up a traditional survey instrument above the river; measuring river depths from a kayak with sonar and GPS; walking the beach with GPS backpacks; and determining offshore depths using a personal watercraft with GPS and sonar.

Map of seabed geology and sun-illuminated topography, Stellwagen Bank
Map of seabed geology and sun-illuminated topography, Stellwagen Bank
Map of seabed geology and sun-illuminated topography, Stellwagen Bank
Photograph of USGS personnel testing water in a marsh
Testing the Water!
Testing the Water!
Testing the Water!

Jen Suttles,Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, collects water samples from a salt marsh tidal creek (East Falmouth, MA) for laboratory analysis of total organic carbon. These samples will be compared to data recorded by instrumentation deployed in an adjacent tidal creek as part of research efforts to quantify carbon dynamics in coastal ecosystems

Jen Suttles,Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, collects water samples from a salt marsh tidal creek (East Falmouth, MA) for laboratory analysis of total organic carbon. These samples will be compared to data recorded by instrumentation deployed in an adjacent tidal creek as part of research efforts to quantify carbon dynamics in coastal ecosystems

Map of offshore southern California showing the contours of the seafloor, with labels pointing to circles showing landslides.
Large submarine slides off southern California
Large submarine slides off southern California
Large submarine slides off southern California

Large submarine slides off southern California (outlined in small white dots). Low-resolution bathymetry shown in light grey (approximately 100 meters/pixel). High-resolution bathymetry shown in darker grey (less than 20 meters/pixel).

Large submarine slides off southern California (outlined in small white dots). Low-resolution bathymetry shown in light grey (approximately 100 meters/pixel). High-resolution bathymetry shown in darker grey (less than 20 meters/pixel).

Schematic showing how sediment on the seafloor moves in response to multiple forces
Schematic showing how sediment on the seafloor moves
Schematic showing how sediment on the seafloor moves
Computer model output looking at an angle, at seismic data represented by lines and swirls, with streams of color going upward.
Hosgri fault 3-D seismic data
Hosgri fault 3-D seismic data
Hosgri fault 3-D seismic data

Three-dimensional view of the Hosgri fault 45 meters below the seafloor, revealing fault strands (black), and potential paths along the fault that fluid could follow (green/blue). The other colors represent different geologic layers.

Three-dimensional view of the Hosgri fault 45 meters below the seafloor, revealing fault strands (black), and potential paths along the fault that fluid could follow (green/blue). The other colors represent different geologic layers.

Map of the seafloor showing its characteristics which include long, linear features that are earthquake fault zones.
Offshore of Point Estero
Offshore of Point Estero
Offshore of Point Estero

Seafloor offshore of Point Estero (PE) showing east (EH) and west (WH) strands of the Hosgri fault zone. Arrow points to a seafloor slope (a 12,000 year old shoreline) that has been offset by the east Hosgri strand, indicating a slip rate of about 2.6 millimeters per year.

Seafloor offshore of Point Estero (PE) showing east (EH) and west (WH) strands of the Hosgri fault zone. Arrow points to a seafloor slope (a 12,000 year old shoreline) that has been offset by the east Hosgri strand, indicating a slip rate of about 2.6 millimeters per year.

Browse graphic of point cloud data
Browse graphic of point cloud data
Browse graphic of point cloud data
Browse graphic of point cloud data

Browse graphic of point cloud data from low altitude aerial imagery from unmanned aerial system flights over Coast Guard Beach, Eastham, MA

Neil Ganju and Patrick Dickhudt preparing an oceanographic platform to measure wetland sediment transport in Forsythe NWR, NJ
Preparing oceanographic platform in Forsythe NWR, NJ
Preparing oceanographic platform in Forsythe NWR, NJ
Preparing oceanographic platform in Forsythe NWR, NJ

Neil Ganju (standing) and Patrick Dickhudt preparing an oceanographic platform to measure wetland sediment transport in Forsythe NWR, New Jersey

Core Lab Manager, Brian Buczkowski, giving a tour of the Core Lab
Brian Buczkowski, Woods Hole Core Lab Manager giving a tour
Brian Buczkowski, Woods Hole Core Lab Manager giving a tour
Brian Buczkowski, Woods Hole Core Lab Manager giving a tour

Woods Hole Core Lab Manager, Brian Buczkowski,  giving a tour of the lab to local teachers participating in a professional development workshop

Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity, California
Monterey Canyon and Vicinity
Monterey Canyon and Vicinity
Monterey Canyon and Vicinity

Map view. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity map area, generated from multibeam-echosounder and bathymetric-sidescan data. Colors show depth: reds and oranges indicate shallower areas; purples, deeper areas. Illumination azimuth is 300°, from 45° above horizon.

Map view. Colored shaded-relief bathymetry map of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity map area, generated from multibeam-echosounder and bathymetric-sidescan data. Colors show depth: reds and oranges indicate shallower areas; purples, deeper areas. Illumination azimuth is 300°, from 45° above horizon.

Parameters considered in models for shoreline change
Models for shoreline change
Models for shoreline change
Models for shoreline change

Parameters considered in models for shoreline change, barrier island characteristics, and piping plover habitat availability. Together, these three models allow for forecasts of most likely future barrier island characteristics and piping plover habitat availability given sea-level rise. 

Parameters considered in models for shoreline change, barrier island characteristics, and piping plover habitat availability. Together, these three models allow for forecasts of most likely future barrier island characteristics and piping plover habitat availability given sea-level rise. 

View looks out from a boat with instruments mounted on the side, over the water and in the far distance are snow-capped peaks.
Seafloor mapping in southeastern Alaska
Seafloor mapping in southeastern Alaska
Seafloor mapping in southeastern Alaska

Mount Crillon in the backdrop during a multibeam bathymetry survey of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault, offshore southeastern Alaska.

The CMHRP has been conducting scientific investigations at Fire Island in order to protect coastal infrastructure
CMHRP scientific investigations help to protect coastal infrastructure
CMHRP scientific investigations help to protect coastal infrastructure
CMHRP scientific investigations help to protect coastal infrastructure

At Fire Island, estuarine, wetland, coastal, and oceanic processes interact, affecting natural and human communities. The CMHRP has been conducting scientific investigations at Fire Island in order to protect coastal infrastructure.

Four photographs showing people in shallow ocean water, at the coast, on a beach, and in a grassy marsh collecting data.
Equipment used during surveys in Columbia River littoral cell
Equipment used during surveys in Columbia River littoral cell
Large euhedral shape (brown) in a fine-grained matrix of rectangles
Rock thin section: andesite
Rock thin section: andesite
Rock thin section: andesite

Photomicrograph of sample 09RDWES301 - an andesite collected during the Redoubt 2009 eruption. A rock thin section is created by gluing a small piece of rock onto a glass slide, then grinding it down to a thickness of 30 microns (the average human hair is about 100 microns in diameter) so that light shines through it when examined under the microscope.

Photomicrograph of sample 09RDWES301 - an andesite collected during the Redoubt 2009 eruption. A rock thin section is created by gluing a small piece of rock onto a glass slide, then grinding it down to a thickness of 30 microns (the average human hair is about 100 microns in diameter) so that light shines through it when examined under the microscope.

photo of dead trees along a coastline with water and background mountains
Drowned Forest in Girdwood, AK from 1964 Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami
Drowned Forest in Girdwood, AK from 1964 Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami
Drowned Forest in Girdwood, AK from 1964 Alaska Earthquake and Tsunami

Shaking during the 1964 Alaska earthquake was felt as far away as Seattle, Washington, and its tsunamis caused 129 fatalities and about \$2.3 billion in property losses (2013 dollars).

Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone eruption: here's what happened in ...
Kīlauea's ERZ eruption: what happened in 2017
Kīlauea's ERZ eruption: what happened in 2017
Kīlauea's ERZ eruption: what happened in 2017

On May 24, 2016, two new flows broke out on the flanks of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. The silvery sheen of new lava erupting from the northern 61f breakout (center) and eastern 61g breakout (upper left) stands out in contrast to the older flows on and around Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (right).

On May 24, 2016, two new flows broke out on the flanks of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō cone on Kīlauea Volcano's East Rift Zone. The silvery sheen of new lava erupting from the northern 61f breakout (center) and eastern 61g breakout (upper left) stands out in contrast to the older flows on and around Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō (right).

19th century virtual reality brings Hawaiian volcano to life...
19th century virtual reality brings Hawaiian volcano to life
19th century virtual reality brings Hawaiian volcano to life
19th century virtual reality brings Hawaiian volcano to life

This building housed the Kīlauea cyclorama at the Chicago World's Fair in1893. Positioned above the entrance to the cyclorama was a statue of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, standing on a lava flow and holding a flame. For more info, please see https://chicagology.com/columbiaexpo/fair052/.

This building housed the Kīlauea cyclorama at the Chicago World's Fair in1893. Positioned above the entrance to the cyclorama was a statue of Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess, standing on a lava flow and holding a flame. For more info, please see https://chicagology.com/columbiaexpo/fair052/.

Was this page helpful?